Pakistan Women face Bangladesh in opener as ICC CWC kicks off tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Women will take on Bangladesh Women in their opening match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2026, scheduled for Thursday, October 2. The tournament officially kicks off in Colombo tomorrow, September 30.

Pakistan qualified for the eight-team mega event after an impressive showing in the ICC CWC Qualifier held earlier this year in Lahore, where they maintained a 100 percent winning record.

Leading up to the tournament, Pakistan featured in a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium. South Africa clinched the series 2–1, winning the first two games before Pakistan took the third.

The national squad includes seven players making their World Cup debut: Eyman Fatima, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Syeda Aroob Shah, and Sadia Iqbal.

Debutants

Eyman Fatima, Shawaal Zulfiqar, and Syeda Aroob Shah are relatively fresh faces, with international experience limited to 1 ODI and 3 T20Is, 4 ODIs and 9 T20Is, and 3 ODIs and 15 T20Is respectively.

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Natalia Parvaiz and Rameen Shamim bring more experience, having featured in 11 ODIs each, along with 24 and 11 T20Is respectively.

Sadaf Shamas (15 ODIs, 3 T20Is) and Sadia Iqbal (29 ODIs, 50 T20Is) are among the most experienced players in the squad but are making their World Cup debuts.

ICC U19 men’s CWC qualification resumes

Fatima Sana will lead the side, which will play all of its group-stage fixtures at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. The semi-finals are set for October 29, with the final scheduled for November 2.

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15-Member Squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Syeda Aroob Shah

Non-traveling reserves

Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar

Pakistan Women’s Fixtures (All matches at 2:30 PM PST):

October 2 – vs Bangladesh

October 5 – vs India

October 8 – vs Australia

October 15 – vs England

October 18 – vs New Zealand

October 21 – vs South Africa

October 24 – vs Sri Lanka